


Homecomimg

by MoonPotatoe



Series: Blood Brothers [2]
Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: Banishment, Blood and Injury, Child Neglect, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Gaslighting, Gen, Leaving Home, Memory Alteration, Physical Abuse, Resentment, Scholar Warrior of Light (Final Fantasy XIV), Self-Esteem Issues, To Be Continued
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-30
Updated: 2020-10-30
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:27:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,627
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27281914
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MoonPotatoe/pseuds/MoonPotatoe
Summary: After the sucess of events on the First and overall breath of respite the Scions and Warriors of Light are having, B'reaza decides it's a good time to visit home and bring her fellow Warriors of Light along to show them where she and B'nuka grew up.But home isn't where you think it is. Sometimes you make your own home
Series: Blood Brothers [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1929154





	Homecomimg

From afar, the village doesn't seem to have changed in the nine years since the twins of the B tribe left for a life of adventuring on the free land that is Eorzea. The twins are the ones who have changed the most in the years. B'reaza no longer wielded the tribe's traditional hunting weapon of the lance in favour of a pair of knives that could easily kill a man in moments. B'nuka pursued his dream of being a scholar (not the type of scholar he was expecting but still a scholar) and finally got himself a pair of glasses to help with his near-sightedness. 

And it wasn't just the twins visiting their home, they had brought their entire adventuring party with them (well it was mostly B'reaza's idea). B'reaza was already running ahead of the group with the sky pirate Amasar, the two troublemakers throwing banter at each other as they raced to the village gate. The Doman summoner Sahar and the Lalafellian black mage Luna were chatting about their recent victories on the First, with securing a proper future for the shard and the success of returning the Scion's scattered souls to their bodies, as well as the Scion's newest edition. Khoa the former mercenary was taking in the sights of the forest where the B tribe's village resided, but she noticed something off with the small scholar. His ears were dropped down lower than they usually were, and his tail wasn't swishing as he walked, only dangled between his legs. It was a bit worrying because despite his scholarly persona with keeping the group from causing trouble, he is still a man who has been through a lot…

"Hey, are you alright Nuka?"

Khoa placed a gentle hand on the small Seeker's shoulder, causing him to freeze up and tail to puff up. He looked behind him and was relieved to see it was only Khoa and not his…forget about it.

"Huh? Y-Y-Yeah I'm fine… Just a little… I-I-It's nothing to worry about. B-Besides, we're here!"

Before the group stood a gate, a huntress of the tribe was standing by it, keeping watch for any unwanted visitors. She took a look at them all, sniffing them with curiosity. Miqo'te tended to have a stronger sense of smell than other races, mostly used to recognise the scents of their fellow tribe mates. Her ears perked up with joy upon recognizing the B twin's sent and let the group in, hoping they enjoy their stay. However while B'nuka was passing through the gate, she whispered something in his ear that sent a shiver down his spine and tail.

"Be careful here, short stuff. Zuka's hiding somewhere waiting to pounce on his prey when their guard is down. Stay close to Reaza and all will be well."

So, B'zuka was still here, waiting for him to come crawling back to the simple life. B'nuka tried to keep it out of his mind, but the memories always came back as clear as day. The cutting, the pain, the blood, his desperate screams for help that stopped as the torture became a norm. Those golden eyes staring down at him, empty, feeling no remorse or sympathy, constantly telling him it's all his fault. His fault his mother died, his fault he's experiencing this pain, his fault he's so weak, a runt. He can still hear his voice echoing in his head, whispering down his ears, dark and emotionless. B'nuka hastily followed after his twin and friends, hoping that by staying with them he may be safe from B'zuka, but he did not notice the golden eyes staring down at him high up in a tree, filled with absolute rage.

"So, after almost ten long years, the Runt has decided to come crawling back… And it seems he's brought company, including dearest Reaza. Well, me and my boys have been planning for your return, and I will make you pay, buy shutting that mouth up once and for all!"

***

B'reaza decided to give everyone a tour of the main village, showing everyone the places she and B'nuka grew up in and telling them about the history of them and some historic events that had happened there. She was acting like a tour guide, and no one had seen this side of her before, well maybe her twin. Amasar felt a little betrayed that his drinking buddy and sparring partner had a calm, girly side to her, but the rogue retaliated to his comment by shouting at him and throwing the sky pirate over her, pinning him down to the ground, knife on his neck with a cheeky smile. A move she'd always use whenever she claimed victory in a spar. Soon enough some people were staring at her and some were beginning to back away in fear of what she will do to the Keeper beneath her. B'reaza hasily got off Amasar and put her knife away, and Amasar got up from the ground, shaking his head and tail to get the dust off his spiky black hair and matching bushy tail.

"Oh that Reaza, always so prone to violence."

"I thought for a second she'd slice that stranger up."

"Guess those years in the western continent have changed her more than we think"

"She really needs to be disciplined more. She's too lax about everything."

B'reaza ignored the whispers the elders were saying about her reckless behaviour and continued her tour of the village. While on their way to the next stop on the tour, B'nuka couldn't understand how his twin ignored all those harsh words the village elders said about her and her behavior. The elders always commented on every child of the tribe's strengths and weaknesses, mostly weaknesses, and their comments usually left a young child in tears or an adult speechless and powerless. 

_"Stop with the tears! You're a Tia, act like it!"_

_"Do you want to be banished!? Then kill that courel! It should be easy for you!"_

_"I honestly can't believe why Dhabi kept you around… Back when Dhon was Nuhn three generations ago, runts like you were left in the wilds. We'd leave you but Dhabi would notice your absence quickly."_

_"Why can't you be like your brother, Nuka? I honestly prefer him over you."_

_"YOU ARE A DISGRACE TO THIS TRIBE!!! YOU SHALL SLEEP IN THE RAIN TONIGHT!!!"_

Memories of many of the elders' comments towards him came crawling back. They were harsher on him then any child in his generation just because he's a lot smaller and weaker than the average B tribe Tia. He wasn't the only one being insulted by them as well, all his siblings were. But Rea, she was the only one who ever ignored all the harsh things the elders said to her about her "reckless" and "un lady like" personality. Some others tried to stand up to the elders by saying "no", but all that ended up happening to them was a slap on the face. The elders may be old, but they're strong, and those slaps often left a red mark on the faces of those who disobeyed them. Those who stood up to the elders never did so again after getting a slap like that. 

The elders were not only commenting on B'reaza's behaviour and B'nuka's return, but also their company.

"Are those guests...Keepers!?"

"I had a feeling Reaza would get involved with those savage poachers."

"Nuka as well. I knew letting the both of them leave was a bad idea. What was Dhabi thinking?"

"Is that blue haired girl, a child!?"

"What's with her eyes? No pupils…"

"What's with the blue fox thing on that blonde's shoulder? Can't he keep it on a leash?"

Everyone was beginning to get a little uncomfortable, B'reaza as well. Maybe it's time they stop for lunch. Luckily she knew a good place for them to stop.

***

_Knock Knock Knock_

B'reaza knocked on the bark of a tree with a treehouse sitting on top. This is where the group was going to have their lunch. A rope next to them began to move up as a ladder fell down from a window, then a pair of Miqo'te girls who looked similar to B'reaza. The girl on the left had golden orange eyes and long pure black hair put up in a ponytail, the girl on the right also had pure black hair, but hers had small patches of white dotted around and was down and went up to her shoulders similar to Rea's when she was a novice adventurer. It was hard to tell, but her eyes were different colours, the left was the same golden orange as the girl on the left, but her right was a light yellow.

"Asha! Rrimpah!" 

"Reaza!

"You're back!"

The three Seeker girls hugged each other as they called each other out. Once they were done hugging it out, B'reaza turned to everyone and introduced them to these two.

"Guys, these B'asha and B'rrimpah. They are mine and Nuka's older sisters." 

She pointed to her friends and began to introduce them all to her big sisters.

"These are my friends; Khoa, Amasar, Sahar, Luna. Oh and I've brought Nuka along too."

Everyone said their hellos and his to the two older Miqo'te, and B'nuka gave his sisters a small nervous wave. B'asha approached her younger brother and brushed away the hair covering his right violet eye.

"Hello little brother. You've grown a lot during your travels. How are the scars doing? Do they still hurt, especially the one on your face?"

B'nuka looked away slightly from his big sister, he doesn't like talking about his scars, especially the big one on his face.

"It's alright… It's been twenty-one years after all since that night…"

"I'm sorry about what happened back then. I should've been there for you when you got attacked by that courel. Come on, let's get inside and have some lunch. Rrimpah and I would like to hear about all your adventures."

B'asha and B'rrimpah began to climb up the ladder to their treehouse, along with everyone else. B'nuka lingered a bit, lost in his thoughts

_"If only you knew what really happened that night…"_

The scholar began to climb the ladder up to the treehouse, but didn't get far up, as from out of nowhere something tackled him mid-climb and into some bushes. B'nuka and his tackler rolled down a hill, ending with the ginger being pinned down to the ground. He struggled to get free, cursing under his breath, but stopped as he looked up at who had him pinned down. Golden eyes staring down at him with rage and hate, hair as black as night. The mere sight of him has B'nuka frozen in fear. 

"Hello, Runt."

B'nuka couldn't speak a word, the fear was taking over. He had to call for help, for Rea, but he couldn't, he was too scared.

"If you're thinking of calling for your dear twin, don't think about it. I've got my boys surrounding the village to make sure no one interferes with us."

B'zuka tightened his grip on his younger brother's wrists, making him wince in pain. He then tied his wrists and ankles together to prevent escape, not that he was trying to run being too petrified with fear, then tied a cloth around his mouth to prevent him from calling for help, and then slung him over his shoulder, carrying him deep into the forest.

"We're gonna need to be far away from home for this, Runt. You're going to be a little loud for this gift I have to give you. Although, once I'm done with you, you'll never speak a word again, you tattle."

B'nuka didn't try to escape, there was no point. His brother was way stronger than he ever will be, and after years of pain he eventually got used to it. It was all inevitable. There's no escaping his fate. 

***

B'zuka stopped by a small cave and threw his youngest brother into the cave. The smaller Miqo'te hit his head on some small rocks causing a nasty gash on his forehead. The older Miqo'te placed a foot on his head, pressing it down into the routh floor causing some small scratches.

"Welcome to my cave. It's where I hide out when and where I plan out your punishments. It's also where you'll be staying until you've paid for Mother's blood with your own."

B'zuka stomped on Nuka's long fluffy ginger tail which was squirming with fear. The tail went limp as pain shot up B'nuka's back.

"We've got thirteen years to catch up on, Runt. And I'm not going to be wasting any time. It won't be long until Reaza and her friends notice you are missing and they go and search for you, but they won't find us here in this secluded area of the forest, and if they do it'll already be too late."

B'zuka smiled, a smile filled with hate and glee as he thought of all the ways he can make his youngest brother pay. He took out a knife from his pocket, one stained with old blood and rust. He then picked up the runt and took him deeper into the dark cave. 

It took a while to prep his younger brother. In the end he almost looked like a sacrifice for some primal summoning ritual. B'nuka was tied to four stalactites with tight rope used for trapping nets, his shirt was taken off and had a disk in his mouth keeping it wide open and leaving him unable to speak properly. Fear was overtaking him as his brother, if he can even call him that anymore, mumbles to himself about all the sick and horrible stuff he plans on doing to B'nuka. Thanks to his excellent hearing, B'nuka could hear every word of his brother's plans. There was the trademark cutting and stabbing he has gotten to know quite well, along with some acts that are mostly used in traditional acts of shame for a Miqo'te, most notably the clipping of one's tail. There were also acts that were just plain evil, one that got him most excited was cutting off the runt's tongue, making him mute. The mere thought of it was sending B'nuka into a panic, tears of fear were already beginning to drip from his eyes. 

B'zuka approached the crying B'nuka, and without hesitation stabbed the scholar's right hand with his knife, then swiftly removed it, causing excruciating pain in the hand. He then began to cut across every scar on his right arm, deeper than he did when he first cut into the arm, causing more blood to drip from the shaking and now numb arm. B'zuka did the same with the left arm, soon enough both arms were red and sticky with blood. B'nuka was screaming and crying in pain, wanting it to stop, but deep down he knew he deserved every bit of pain and worse. He was starting to feel faint from the blood loss, but B'zuka wasn't going to let him faint now. He untied the bloody Miqo'te and began to kick him in the gut and neck, chanting the same message that has been branded into his mind.

"It's all your fault… It's all your fault… It's all your fault…"

_"It's all my fault… It's all my fault… It's all my fault…"_

Once B'zuka is done beating up his younger brother, he throws him against the wall with all his strength. B'nuka was sure he heard something in him break, but whatever it was didn't matter. He no longer had the strength to move, too sore from the recent beating up. His vision was getting blurry, he doesn't know how long he can last until he passes out. The older Miqo'te retaliated by dropping a rock on B'nuka's tail, crushing it and trapping him. B'zuka knelt down on top of the bruised and bloody Miqo'te, who's looked almost unrecognisable with all the blood and bruises. B'zuka grabbed his brother's tongue from his open mouth and placed a knife on it.

"Time for you to shut up for good, Runt. So you may never tattle on anyone ever again!" 

Just before he could get to work cutting off the muscle, B'zuka felt something hit him on the back. He turned to the ground next to him to spy a small rock.

"Oi bastard! Get the hells of Nuka and pick on someone your own size!"

B'zuka turns towards the source of the voice call out to him, and sees a trio of Miqo'te he's never seen before, weapons drawn. The silver haired girl with the gunblade gasped upon seeing B'nuka on the floor beaten and bruised, while the two males were staring daggers at B'zuka. B'nuka tried to tell his friends to run, but he couldn't get the words out, he was too weak. 

"Sa… sar… Kho… R-Run… sa...ve...or…"

He reached out to his friends, but his arm limply dropped to the ground.

"Eh? Who the hells are you three? Can't you see I'm-" 

B'zuka never finished that sentence as he was sent flying by a punch to the face by Amasar. Sahar and Khoa rushed to B'nuka's side and the two began to heal him up as best they could. Amasar pinned B'zuka down to the ground preventing him from going to attack the healers as they healed B'nuka. Despite what B'reaza said to them about how ruthless B'zuka can be, they had him pinned down in an instant. Guess he was all just talk. Soon enough, B'reaza and Luna arrived on the scene, along with an older Miqo'te with greying ginger hair like the twins, along with B'asha and B'rrimpah, who rushed over to their younger brother's side. The older Miqo'te stared at the pinned down B'zuka with such fury in his eyes that the pinned down Seeker felt like a kitten.

"B'ZUKA TIA!!!" WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO SAY FOR YOURSELF!!!?" 

"F-F-Father… I can explain. I have found these foreign visitors beating my brother to death and when I tried to stop them they pinned me down to the ground."

Everyone is appalled at what B'zuka had just done, shifting the blame onto the visitors. His sisters were scowling at him with hatred.

"Lies! All of them! You've been torturing Nuka again haven't you!?"

"I-I…"

B'dhabi was beyond furious with his son. He had known he hadn't been the same ever since B'asinka's passing, but to think he'd torture his younger brother. He turned toward his daughters and asked them a serious question.

"Be honest with me girls, has Zuka done the same to you as he has done to Nuka?"

All three of his daughters there shook their heads in disagreement. B'rrimpah mentioned that she has no idea about their other blood sister, B'zimza, but positively assumes she hasn't been affected by their brother's abuse, only their youngest sibling. B'dhabi has seen and heard enough to make up his mind on what to do about his son. 

"B'zuka Tia, I don't wish to do this to any of my children, but with everything Reaza has told me and me witnessing my youngest on the floor bleeding like a poached animal, you must be punished for your crimes. You are to never set forth into our territory and village again, and your placement as my heir has been revoked. If you are caught in our territory, you will be killed by the huntresses, I recommend you travel to someplace new, like Othard."

B'zuka couldn't believe what his father was saying to him, he tried to get up to argue back but struggled under the weight of Amasar. 

"Y-You can't banish me! I'm your son! Your heir! Who'll become the new Nuhn of the B tribe when you pass on!? I can't survive out there on my own!"

B'dhabi Nuhn began to walk out the cave, ignoring his now disowned son. B'asha and B'rrimpah picked up the unconscious B'nuka, his arms still bleeding, but not as much as they were when they got here thanks to Sahar and Khoa. Everyone else followed them, but not before giving B'zuka a glare saying _"Don't think about following us, or you will pay"_ As everyone left, they heard the now banished Tia scream out to everyone, telling them to not leave him, but they just continued onto the village.

***

B'nuka woke up the next day in the B tribe's infirmary, where his wounds had been treated. His arms were in bandages to help the many cuts heal up. Most of his injuries would take a day or two to recover from, but his left leg and tail would take longer. The thing B'nuka heard break when he was thrown to the cave's wall was his leg and his tail was shattered after being crushed under a rock. It will take a few moons for them to heal, so he's off duty until they are better. B'reaza told him about B'zuka'a banishment and the Nuhn is too busy deciding on a new heir to the title, but promises to visit his son before he leaves, hopefully.

"I see… So Zuka's not coming back?" 

"Nope. That bastard honestly deserved what happened to him. Every Miqo'te knows that banishment is the worst punishment one can be given, especially for Seekers like us. If we're lucky, we'll never see him again, and now you can feel safe both at home and in Eorzea."

B'nuka fell quiet for a moment, pondering something on his mind. 

"Huh? You okay, Nuka?"

"Did Zuka really deserve to be banished…?"

"What!? Of fucking course he deserved to be bannished! Look at what he did to you! You've got so many scars people may mistake you for a war verterain, you're terrified of any sort of blade and water, and whenever something related to family is brought up in a conversation you have a full on panic attack. You're a mess Nuka! Zuka messed you up!"

B'reaza fell silent as her twin silently averted eye contact from her. He may not say it, but he was hurting, both inside and out. B'reaza could feel his pain too, not literally but figuratively. A twin thing some would say. She had a feeling B'nuka was conflicted about B'zuka's banishment. One one hand, he was now safe, no more shall he be abused by him, no more shall he feel pain and regret for a thing he has no idea about, he can finally live a normal family life. But on the other hand, he wondered if B'zuka really deserved to be banished. Sure he tortured him for seven years and almost killed him on multiple occasions, but he was his older brother, his family. Was what he did to him a normal thing brother's do? 

Was it…?

B'nuka really needed to get his mind straight. He had no idea what his mother was like as she passed away shortly after his birth, or what B'zuka was like before his and B'reaza's birth. He couldn't ask his twin since she has no idea about their mother and B'zuka before them, so he had to ask the only other people he knew who knew his mother and brother before everything changed on that fateful day twenty-nine years ago.

***

"Asha, what were Mother and Zuka like before me and Rea came into the world?"

B'asha almost tripped over her own two feet upon hearing her brother's question. The eldest of B'nuka's full-blooded sisters had to have known something about his mother and brother. The fair skinned Miqo'te pulled a chair next to her younger brother's bed and began to speak with him.

"Why are you asking this now? Is it because of something Reaza or one of your friends said?"

"Wh-What…!? K-K-Kinda… I just wanna know what they were like, since I never met Mother and all my memories of Zuka are of him…"

B'nuka couldn't finnish the sentence, the painful memories were too much for him, especially after B'zuka's banishment. B'asha understands, she must've been really close to him before the twins were born. She doesn't mind the half answered question and tells her brother everything she can about the two.

"Well, let's start with Mother. For a visual reference from what I can remember about her, she looks just like me, except her hair was down, and she had your eyes and tail."

As B'asha was talking, B'nuka got a mental image in his head of his mother. Long flowing hair as black as the night sky, her pale skin heavily contrasting her locks. Her face was full of motherly love, those gem like violet eyes that made her stand out among the crowd, since cold coloured eyes like blue and violet are rare among Seekers like her and by extension, him and his twin sister. With a visual image in mind of his mother, the bed ridden scholar took an old notebook he had brought with him and began to sketch out his mother exactly how he imagined her from the vague details his older sister could remember about her.

"What are you doing?"

B'asha quickly noticed the sketch and notes her youngest sibling was making in the old notebook. The sketch wasn't the best, but it was surprisingly detailed. It looked almost like their mother did in her youth, when she was B'asha's age if not younger.

"Just making notes. It's what a scholar does. How else will I show Rea and others who never knew Mother?"

"Well, it's fairly impressive so far little brother. If you want, I can tell you about Zuka when he was a kid before you were born."

B'nuka hesitated a bit, but nodded to his sister in agreement. He needed to know what his older brother was once like, before everything changed on the day he and B'reaza were born into the B tribe, and their mother left this world.

"Alright…"

B'asha took a deep breath, then began to talk. B'nuka took notes as she spoke about their now banished sibling.

"He wasn't always like that you know. Cold, distant, blood thirsty. When he was a young child he always looked after me, Rrimpah and Zimza. As the eldest from the same mother and a Tia at that, he worked his arse off to make his sisters happy. Father kept telling him not to overwork himself, to play with the other kids his age, and he did but he'd ways drag me along because I was the closest sister to his age."

B'asha chuckled a bit, most likely reliving happy memories with her big brother. A few tears began to fall from her eyes, but she wiped them away before her lil' brother lifted his eyes off his notebook.

"Everything changed after Mother passed. He didn't go to her funeral, he stayed home. The place was a mess when we got back that day. Father didn't have it in himself to tell Zuka off, just told us all to go to our rooms. According to Rrimpah, who snuck downstairs, he was crying in the middle of the mess, slumped to the floor. Zuka was crying too, as he tore his room to shreds, cursing Azemya. He stopped looking after us, stopped playing with us, stopped talking with us. When I next saw him face-to-face on your and Reaza's first nameday, the big brother I once knew was gone, as if he died just like Mother…"

B'asha's eyes were red after rubbing them too much while telling the tragic story of B'zuka, but B'nuka, his eyes were full on puffy with tears. He did his best to not cry on the notes he just wrote, but after everything he just heard about his older brother, it was hard since the tears were blinding him. To think, the man who tortured him for most of his childhood was once a caring big brother who's only concern was the happiness of his younger siblings. He would've made a fine Nuhn if things had been different. He soon felt a soft touch on his trembling shoulder, and came face-to-face with his big sis. 

"I'm sorry Zuka hurt you.. I wish I had known earlier… If I did, I could've prevented all those scars from ever becoming a part of you…"

B'nuka hugged his sister as tight as he could, doing his best to show he it's not her fault. The two siblings held each other as they wept for a good bell…

***

"Rrimpah, what were Mother and Zuka like before me and Rea came into the world?"

B'rrimpah thought for a moment at her younger brother's question as she helped him back into his bed after a day of examinations on his leg and tail. 

"I dunno. I don't really remember much about Ma before she passed away, I was only five summers compared to Asha who was seven. But I can tell you a lot about Zuka if you so wish."

B'nuka looked at the notebook he had on his desk, it was full of notes about both his mother and B'zuka based on stuff B'asha told him. He understands that B'rrimpah, being two years younger than their eldest full blooded sister would have a harder time remembering stuff about their mother then stuff about their banished sibling. The same can be said about B'zimza, who was only a toddler when their mother passed. Stuff about their mother gets vauger and vauger the further down the chain he goes, the two who probably knew the most about her were his father (who is too busy sorting out who his heir will be) and B'zuka (who is banished and hates B'nuka with the fury of a thousand suns). He looked at his big sister and nodded at her with a nervous expression. He didn't want to hear how his brother went from a normal kid who loved his family to a man who takes great pleasure in torturing his youngest sibling, but this is what he wants to do, to hear. As a scholar he needs to record everything on what he studies, and right now he's studying his family, or to be more specific; what his mother was like in her life and how his brother became this biggest fear. 

He had to know….

He wanted to know…

B'rrimpah began to speak about B'zuka.

"Well...even with everything that had happened, Zuka still took pride and joy in being Father's heir. He devoted every waking moment to learning about the responsibilities of being a Nuhn from Father, he was often found asleep on a desk with his head full of books. He always looked like he was about to collapse from exhaustion every time we saw him out and about."

B'nuka took notes on everything his sister was saying. Guess being a workaholic runs in the family, on the guys side at the very least. B'zuka worked his arse off to be ready for the day B'dhabi passed away or stepped down from the Nuhn throne so he could lead the next generation of the B tribe. If only he didn't devote as much time as he did studying leadership skills to torturing his youngest sibling for his pleasure…

If only…

***

"Zimza, what were mother and Zuka like before me and Rea came into the world?"

B'zimza took a peep into the infirmary where B'nuka is staying after she heard B'nuka's question.

"Sorry, I can't help you there lil bro. Gotta go bye!"

As soon as she appeared, she disappeared. Typical of B'zimza to not stay around when he family wants her to. B'nuka sighed in disappointment as he took a look at his notebook. He didn't have a lot in it, just a sketch of what his mother could've looked like when she was still alive, and a load of notes on B'zuka in his youth. Sure, he does feel a bit sorry for him, with how far he has fallen from a bright eyed heir looking doing his best to prove he's worthy to a shunned and banished maniac with the blood of his youngest brother on his hands. 

B'nuka unwraps the bandages covering one of his arms, and stares at the many scars that cover it. New scar tissue was beginning to form over the old scar tissue, it's an ugly sight. As he stares at each little scar, memories come back of all the times B'zuka mercilessly cut him open all while he cried in pain. The voices of his younger self screaming in pain and B'zuka's mind numbing chant fills his head. His scars begin to hurt, every single one of them. It felt like his arms were on fire as he covered his ears to hopefully block out the noise, but they just got louder. 

_It's all your fault…_

_It's all your fault!_

_IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT!!!_

"Please stop… Please stop… Please… No more… It hurts…" B'nuka whimpered in fear, in pain, hoping for someone, anyone to come and assure him everything was alright, that he was safe…

But no one came…

Everything was not alright…

He wasn't safe…

  
  


***

B'nuka's bed was empty.

He was packing his bags with all his stuff.

Clothes, books, toiletries. He never really used most of the stuff he had brought with him, as he spent most of the days he was visiting his home stuck in bed with wounded arms and legs as well as a broken leg and crushed tail. He still had to continue his recovery in Eorzea, luckily Y'shtola, Krile and G'raha can aid in its recovery. There was just one last thing he had to pack, his notebook. It was a waste of time, barely any notes in it about his mother, only a sketch. And there was a page about B'zuka, which he didn't want to look at. Expressing a sigh of annoyance, he dropped the notebook into a bin and closed his bag up. He was all ready to depart back to Eorzea, and hopefully leave this place behind for good. 

"You're not planning on leaving without saying goodbye to your old man, are you?"

The sudden voice almost scared B'nuka out of his skin, luckily he had nothing to be scared of as it was just his father. The Nuhn was standing in the doorframe, leaning against it alongside his cane with a jolly smirk on his face. He may be old but he's still a feisty, young Tia at heart. B'nuka turned away from his father and fiddled with the handle of his bag. He just wants to leave as soon as he can.

"Are you alright Nuka? I know your visit has been a little boring with you being bedridden for the most of it, but at least you got to see your family again. If you're worried about your friends, Reaza has made them all feel like they're at home"

_"I'm not worried about them… I just want to go back to Eorzea…"_

B'nuka continued to ignore his dad as he grabbed his bag and tried to leave the room. It was hard to move with crutches and carry a heavy bag at the same time, but he didn't have to go far with it. Just a quick trip to the pier so they can take a boat home, home where his real family is, not this. B'nuka didn't make it far before dropping his bag and tripping over it, falling to the ground. 

"Nuka! Here let me carry your stuff for-"

"NO!!! I DON'T NEED YOUR HELP!!!" 

B'dhabi took a step back, surprised by his son's sudden outburst. All the kits he had sireed were stubborn as hell, but the ones from B'ashinka were stubborn as rocks. An outburst like this was fairly common among the kits when they were younger, but B'nuka's never once shouted like this, or never once directed a shout like this at him. His youngest was clearly struggling to stand up, and kept refusing his father's hand. B'dhabi wasn't going to let his son struggle, not after everything the young scholar had gone through.

"Nuka, are you alright? It's not like you to stubbornly refuse help like this. Please, let me help you."

B'nuka continued to ignore his father as he kept trying to stand, and failing every time. His face was going to be a bruised mess and he still would be stuck on the floor. B'dhabi offered a helping hand again. 

"My son, please, if this is about what happened with Zuka, it's all in the past now. He won't bother you anymore."

Something the Nuhn said triggered something in B'nuka, as he was soon snapping at his father.

**"YoU dOn'T uNdErStaNd!!! ThAt BaStArD sImPlY wOn'T lEaVe Us AlOnE, eVeN wHeN wE tHiNk We'Re SaFe!!! We CaN sTiLl HeAr HiS vOiCe, ToRmEnTiNg Us, MoCkInG uS, BlAmInG uS fOr MoThEr'S dEaTh!!! Do YoU hAvE aNy IdEa HoW mUcH wE hAvE sUfFeREd BeCaUsE oF hIm!!!? Do YoU!!!? dO yOu!!!?"**

For a brief moment, B'dhabi was sure he saw red in his son's eyes instead of the violet they usually are, tears beginning to drip out of his eyes as he cries and screams at the man who raised him, who failed him…

" **AlL i WaNtEd wAs A nOrMaL lIfE, a NoRmAl AnD hApPy ChIlDhOoD!!! bUt No!!! i WaS bOrN wEaK, mUrDeReD mY oWn MoThEr, IsOlAtEd AnD mOcKeD bY eVeRyOnE fOr My WeAkNeSs!!! I wAs MiSeRaBlE hErE, i StIlL aM mIsErAbLe HeRe!!! EoRzEa Is ThE oNlY pLaCe I cAn ReAlLy CaLl HoMe, BeCaUsE I'm NoT jUdGeD fOr EvErY aCtIoN i MaKe, UnLiKe ThIs PeRsOnAl HeLl!!!** I… I… I…"

The dark aura surrounding the crippled Miqo'te faded away after a lot of shouting about one's personal feelings. B'nuka's throat hurt, it felt dry, he just continued his tantrum by crying on the floor having given up.

_"Why did I even come here…? It was all Rea's idea to visit home after almost a decade… Guess she never realised how much I hate it here...along with everyone else in this gods forsaken tribe…"_

B'nuka suddenly no longer felt the cold wooden floor of the infirmary on his wet tear stained face, as he felt the sensation of being picked up. It was his father. He would've thought the older Miqo'te would've turned tail and fled, leaving his son helpless on the floor, but he was actively helping him. Why? 

As soon as B'nuka was placed on the nearest bed, B'dhabi Nuhn embraced his son with a hug. He's only really felt this kind of hug from Rea, since she's the one who's been by his side since birth (kinda). From her, it felt warm and he felt safe, nothing would hurt him as long as she was around. But from his father, the hug felt cold and empty. The man was most likely hugging him out of pity for everything, it only took twenty-seven years… Despite how angry he was, he didn't have the strength to push his father away or shout, he just wanted this whole day to be over already so he can go back to Eorzea and leave this place behind for good. Eorzea was his home, not here. 

"Nuka I am so, so sorry for everything. I had no idea you really felt like that about...about everything. I'm sorry I couldn't be there for you when Zuka began to hurt you. I'm sorry I couldn't be there for you when the elders took you to the isolated areema near the main village to make you stronger. I'm sorry I wasn't there when you needed me most… I'm sorry I wasn't more involved in your life more… I'm sorry your sisters weren't more involved with you… I'm sorry you never felt truly in place here…"

B'dhabi was full on sobbing as he held onto B'nuka for dear life, as he apologised for everything that made his son's life in the village a misery.

"If only there was some way I could make it up to you… Whatever you want, anything you desire, my son, I shall do my best as Nuhn of the B tribe to grant you what you want."

"There is...one thing I want… More than anything…"

B'nuka thought long and hard about what he wanted from his father. Everything that he does want from the man is all to do with his childhood, but there was one thing the Scholar wanted his father to do, ever since he first set foot into Eorzea all those years ago.

"I want… I want...you to...t-t-to...make me a t-tribless Miqo'te! I don't want to be b-bound by my status as a "Tia," I-I-I want to find myself, make a n-n-name for myself! I want to live in E-Eorzea, forever!!!"

It took everything in B'nuka not to faint upon confessing his deepest desire. He just wants to be free from the chains of his past pulling him back into the darkness of his tribal life, he just wants to be a free man, who controls what **HE** wants to do with his life, where **HE** wants to live 'till the day he dies, what **HIS** name will be. 

"I never really felt like I b-belonged here, with the t-tribe. The tribal life just...isn't for me… This place is where I was born, but it never felt like...like h-home… I've found a home...in Eorzea, w-with the Scions and all the A-Alliance… It may sound like you're b-b-banishing your other son, b-but you're not, you'll be giving me a s-second chance at a-another way of life, not condemning me to a life of loneliness and sh-shame. I-I'll still be with Rea and everyone else, I won't be abandoning them b-because they are my f...fa...family!"

B'nuka fell silent as he awaited his father's response. After that grand speech he gave about how better of he felt at home in Eorzea then Illsabard, which he did feel like fainting multiple times due to his nervousness, the older, wiser Miqo'te would surely have an answer for his son, if he can even call himself that anymore…

"If that is what it'll take to make you happy, Nuka, then I shall support you in your choice."

B'nuka's ears perked up in shock, the same shock was all over his face as he looked up at his father. He didn't mishear what he said, right? He will support his choice, right?

"B'nuka, from this moment on, by the blessings of the Nuhn of the Boar tribe, you are no longer bound by the obligations and expectations of a Tia. How you choose to live this new, free life of yours is up to you, my son. But no matter what, even if you don't consider us your family or this your home, you will always be my son, and I will always be your father."

B'dhabi once again embraced his son, who looked to be on the verge of tears. 

"No matter what you choose, I love you Nuka. Your mother would be so proud of the man you have become, even if you think yourself undeserving of her love."

B'nuka couldn't hold back the tears anymore. He hugged his father back as he wept on the Nuhn's shoulders, before smiling for the first time in the presence of anyone in his family aside from his twin.

"Thank you… Thank you for giving me this chance."

***

Almost the whole tribe went to see the twins and their friends off as they all began to board the boat back to Eorzea. With everything that had happened, everyone seemed to enjoy their stay. According to Amasar, he and B'reaza had one last spar in front of the whole tribe at their going away bonfire. It was tough and bloody, and it resulted in a tie and two drunk Miqo'te by the end of the night. They seemed to have recovered from their hangover fairly quickly, maybe thanks to Sahar and Khoa's healing magics. As long as everyone had fun that's all that mattered. B'asha helped carry B'nuka's bag to the ship, but before he boarded, she handed him an old notebook, the same one he used when he tried to learn more about his mother and "older brother" with failure.

"Father will be sure to send you letters about Mother to you so you can learn more about her. A small doodle isn't enough for someone to be remembered by." 

B'nuka hesitantly took the notebook and placed it on a smaller bag around him where he kept his codex, many soul crystals and special potions and bandages for all of his scars. He gave B'asha a hug goodbye and boarded the ship home. 

As the ship began to sail away, everyone on land waved goodbye, hoping to see them again, except the tribes elders who weren't fond of their guests and are desperate for the "status quo" of the tribe to return (Luckily B'dhabi won't be letting them overthrow him anytime soon as he does his best to train his new heir, when he chooses one). As B'nuka was seeing his father wave goodbye to the ship, he spied a beautiful Miqo'te woman, with long pure black hair, fair skin and violet eyes, dressed in a white ghostly gown. She was looking at him, saying something he couldn't hear, but he could feel her love for him in every word she may have said.

_"Thank you, Mother… I love you too."_

The future seemed bright for B'nuka, as he began to embrace his new, tribeless life with the people he loves, his true family.

**Author's Note:**

> Hoo boy this is long. If you read this far I hope you enjoyed Nuka's terrible childhood home and how he deals with it all. It may be a bit rambly due to how long it is, hopefully the finale won't be as long.
> 
> Everything said about the B tribe is all purely headcannon.
> 
> B'nuka, B'reaza and Luna belong to me  
> Sahar, Khoa and Amasar belong to @DuelingPokemon, used with her permission.


End file.
